North Road North Road (Darlington)  | |||||
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Darlington,Borough of Darlington England | ||||
| Coordinates | 54°32′8.4″N1°33′13.5″W / 54.535667°N 1.553750°W /54.535667; -1.553750 | ||||
| Grid reference | NZ289157 | ||||
| Owned by | Network Rail | ||||
| Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||
| Platforms | 1 | ||||
| Tracks | 1 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | NRD | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Stockton and Darlington Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | North Eastern Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | |||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1 April 1842 | Opened asDarlington | ||||
| 1 October 1868 | RenamedDarlington North Road | ||||
| 1 September 1934 | RenamedNorth Road | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  46,138 | ||||
| 2020/21 |  16,448 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 43,168 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 47,222 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 42,044 | ||||
Listed Building – Grade II* | |||||
| Feature | OriginalStockton and Darlington Railway station buildings | ||||
| Designated | 28 April 1952 | ||||
| Reference no. | 1322962[1] | ||||
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North Road is a railway station on theTees Valley Line, which runs betweenBishop Auckland andSaltburn viaDarlington. The station, situated 1 mile 23 chains (2.1 km) north-west of Darlington, serves themarket town ofDarlington inCounty Durham, England. It is owned byNetwork Rail and managed byNorthern Trains.
The railway station is closely linked with the history of theStockton and Darlington Railway, being the site of the original Darlington station. The station building, now a museum entitledHopetown, was first opened in 1842 and is listed Grade II*.[2] It replaced a depot on the opposite side of North Road, built in 1833. The building was constructed to a design by the S&D resident engineer of the timeJohn Harris and was expanded and rebuilt on several subsequent occasions (e.g. in 1856 following the opening of the line toBarnard Castle and again in 1864 and 1876 by theNER and their main architectWilliam Peachey).[3]
The opening of the main line station atBank Top in 1887 saw the importance of North Road decline and it was twice threatened with closure in the 20th century (initially in 1930 and again under theBeeching cuts of 1963), but was reprieved each time. The closure of the Stainmore route toPenrith in 1962 and theMiddleton-in-Teesdale branch line two years later did see the route through here reduced to single track (with only one platform remaining) and by the early 1970s, the train shed had suffered badly from vandalism and was in a poor state of repair. This prompted the local council, the town's tourist board, Darlington Museums service and a consortium of local people to join together to restore the station and Hopetown Works Complex nearby as a museum (formerly known as Head of Steam), whilst maintaining a single active platform for the Bishop Auckland branch line. This work was completed in time for the 150th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1975, with the opening ceremony carried out by the Duke of Edinburgh.[4]
Trains do not however stop under the train shed roof, instead using the eastern end of the platform in the open air.
The station is unstaffed but has a ticket machine (card only). AHarrington Hump has been installed to improve accessibility to the trains for mobility-impaired passengers and the waiting shelter here was replaced in 2015 as part of the Tees Valley line improvement programme - this also saw the installation of a digital CIS display, new signage and CCTV.[5] Train running information is also available via the electronic display. The station is not listed as suitable for wheelchair users on theNational Rail website due to the approach path being steeply graded.[6]
Northern Trains Tees Valley Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bishop Auckland – Saltburn via Darlington & Middlesbrough | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of the May 2021 timetable change, the station is served by an hourly service betweenSaltburn andBishop Auckland viaDarlington. All services are operated byNorthern Trains.[7]
Rolling stock used:Class 156Super Sprinter andClass 158Express Sprinter
Media related toNorth Road railway station at Wikimedia Commons| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darlington | Northern Trains Tees Valley Line | Heighington | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Fighting Cocks | North Eastern Railway Stockton and Darlington Railway | Aycliffe Lane | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Terminus | North Eastern Railway Darlington and Barnard Castle Railway | Piercebridge | ||
